Friday, July 30, 2010

"Autumn Apace!" -or- "A Fungus Among Us!?"

I'm adding in a signature section at the bottom of Delivering Autumn, and thought you might like to see the development. :D



Meanwhile, a lurker in our midst: this morning Marc is calling me from the Bathroom asking if I've seen "This"; seen "It". I kept replying, "No, what is it?" and only got the same question from him. Finally, he told me.

It was a Mushroom. Growing. From. A. Crack. In. The. Ceiling. Of. Our. Bathtub.

Now, we live in an Apartment, which means that there's probably some leak from the neighbor's pipes above. I just cannot tell you how bad things like mold are for your health. I've been doing so much research for this lately (Knowledge is Paranoia, as Marc says) surrounding my detox diet. After obsessing and working and tracking and dosing and God knows what for weeks, I had just had it.

I asked Marc to stay home for a bit and deal with the Landlord when he arrived because I knew I'd either cling to the poor man and weep inconsolably in my panic, or shred him mercilessly with my razor-sharp claws. Neither seemed like a viable interaction for solving this problem. Thankfully, he was able to do so, though with 3 or 4 anxious you're-on-the-road-in-right calls from the office.

Folks, I've been on a special diet for weight loss before this for about a year, but now the delightful "New Features of the Last Several Weeks":

* No sugar or starch (from one year ago, but done with breaks and exceptions, now, no exceptions.)

* No sugar substitutes/artificial sugars.
* No Caffeine (I do love my tea.)
* I can drink only room-temperature or warmer (not cold) distilled water.
* No fermented products (Vinegar is a no, unless it's unpasteurized. EVERYTHING has vinegar in it. I can't even eat mustard, folks).
* Maybe I could eat some dairy, but probably not. So, I'm not.
* Oh, yeah, No sugar means No Fruit (though I can eat about a handful of berries occasionally.

And,

* No Mushrooms.

I need a moment. Like maybe one that lasts about a week and is located in a posh spa, lol. Where there are no mushrooms growing from the sheetrock.

Let's ALL have a great weekend, folks. For now, I'm off to stitch and Ignore the Fungus. Which was dutifully removed by Marc, but...well. Define "removed".

11 comments:

Patricia Lessell said...

I would have totally freaked out. But why are you on this 'no anything' diet, or practically nothing diet? Just curious is all. I couldn't live without fruit!
Lots of Love
Patti xxx

Anonymous said...

I would have freaked at the mushroom as well! Hang in there, Berit - I am on the same diet and have been for the past 8 or so years, so I completely empathize. In the last 2-3 years, I've been able to have goat's cheese, which I love and bread, as long as it's organic and wholemeal. I don't miss sugar that much, but eating out is a PITA, as you may have discovered ;) I usually go with fish (salmon or similar) and hold the sauce. We eat really well and DH has become a genius at cooking tasty meals that I can eat :) If you want to chat or just need a bit of reassurance, just email me :)

Margaret said...

OMG! A mushroom?! On your bathroom ceiiling? I don't blame you for freaking out. I would have too. And that diet. I would never be able to do it. I admire you for your determination.

Christina said...

Oh no - poor you. That diet sounds horrific, I have very little will power as far as diet goes. I've recently been diagnosed with PCOS and a low carb diet is advised, but to be perfectly frank - I'd rather be six feet under! I get so much enjoyment from food. It's very worrying though when you look into the hormones that are 'pumped' into our food and drink. I've switched to organic milk and try to buy as much organic produce as i can, but it's just so blooming expensive. Well done to you for sticking with it, you must have a willpower of steel, whereas mine's made of fondant icing...hhhmmmm...fondant icing sugar, yummy!!! I have totally cut out caffeine from my diet, and boy did I pay for it for a few days - I got terrible headaches. That just made me more determined to carry on caffeine free. I still drink tea - Tetley do a fantastic caffeine free tea, it tastes just like the 'proper' stuff.
Btw - the photo you have of yourself on your blog shows a young lady who doesn't need to lose an ounce of weight.

The Marcness said...

I took pictures before I removed the mushroom.... :P

In the end, the landlord said he would replace the ceiling....in a week. He's waiting that long to make sure that the leaky pipe from upstairs has truly been fixed. But, I'm not sure if we can wait that long....I mean, we have to shower in there!

I hear that bleach isn't necessarily the answer; hydrogen peroxide is more effective, propylene glycol (aka, anti-freeze) even moreso, but more toxic. I think I'll shoot for the peroxide for now. Wish us luck!

Myra said...

Oh dear Berit! A mushroom? Really? That would be a bit much for me too. I admire your fortitude with the diet regime - it sounds very strict and I wish you the best.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Mushrooms on the ceiling - hmmm.... not where you want them, for sure! Good luck with your "diet" which sounds like something you must do rather than really want to do. Good luck!!

Blu said...

That mushroom story scared me enough to go look at my washroom ceiling! Thankfully nothing there.

Delivering Autumn looks great.

Daffycat said...

Your Delivering Autumn WIP looks fantastic! I just love the squirrel that's hitching a ride!

MyLifesAStitch said...

Oh man, Berit! Are you freaking??? I know I would be! Especially if I were in the middle of a detox. Ugh. I did that once and didn't get past the third day. I was a wreck!

I really hope they take care of it appropriately and fully!

Hazel said...

That sounds like the Phase 1 of the Harcombe diet. You are killing off all the candida and food intolerences and hypoglycemia in your body. Mushrooms and vinegar and sugar feed all these things. I did the phase 1 which lasts a week but then resumed my normal diet which is Slimming World which I just cannot fault. I love it and have been on it on and off for years. xx